Billy Corgan on Smashing Pumpkins Reunion: ‘I’m Way More Interested in the Fact That We Have Peace With Each Other’

Billy Corgan, or William Patrick Corgan as he'd like to be known, has a new solo album coming out next month, Ogilala. It marks his first solo disc since 2005's TheFutureEmbrace, but also is the first time he's worked with former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha since their 2000 album Machina II/The Friends & Enemies Of Modern Music on recorded music.It's also added more fuel to the fire on whether or not a Smashing Pumpkins reunion featuring the original members of the band is imminent. Corgan spoke on the rumors in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.

As to whether or not fans can expect original Pumpkins members Corgan, Iha, D'arcy Wretzky and Jimmy Chamberlin all playing together anytime soon, Corgan said, "[A reunion tour] has been knocked about. There's certainly gears that turn and things get waved around, but until it's inked, I'm in the dark as much as anybody … But I'll say this and I mean it: If we never play a note together again, that's okay. I'm way, way more interested in the fact that we have peace with each other. I've reached the point in my life where I'm not in a hurry to get to anything. If it's there, great. If it's not, cool."

Looking past a reunion, Corgan is most excited to foremost be on speaking terms with the rest of the group. "Communicating solely through the fog of media is obviously not the best way to communicate in the era of fake news," Corgan says. "Often times I would try to explain to people that the issues were more familial than they were musical. People just don't believe you. Maybe because they don't want to since it's not as interesting."

As to why the band had such a tumultuous falling out, Corgan speaks about the circumstances of what touring was like for the band. "We were in a pressure cooker for 13, 14 years. We were literally together almost non-stop for a long time. We did a lot of work and we put ourselves through some crazy s--t. When the family thing broke, it was one of those things like, 'Hey, have you talked to your cousin?' 'Eh, I love him, but you know, whatever.' So it was like that for a long time, and now that that's over, and the family thing is resolved, it's awesome."

Last month, Corgan released the first single off of Ogilala, a song called"Aeronaut" that featured production by Rick Rubin. It marked a very subdued Corgan, featuring him and only the barest of instrumentation on the track. In addition to a full album of music coming, Corgan has also been taking to Facebook to perform a variety of different songs for fans, both from larger Pumpkins material and his own solo work.

Corgan also has a film project in the works called Pillboxfeaturing a script he wrote himself and co-directed with Linda Strawberry. It's a silent film, soundtracked by Ogilala.